Transport committee to reconvene on Lac-Megantic disaster

The House of Commons transport committee will reconvene sometime in the next five days, following a formal request for a meeting from NDP MP Olivia Chow.

Chow, who serves as the committee’s vice chair, has asked that the committee be recalled in light of the devastating oil train derailment earlier this month in Lac Mégantic, Que.

The derailment wiped out much of the town after the 73-car runaway train derailed, setting off a series of explosions that killed 47 people. Five more people are still unaccounted for and are presumed dead.

The scale of the devastation requires that the committee meet, Chow’s spokesperson Susan Kwong said when reached at her office in Toronto. Recalling the committee is a way of “ensuring something like this never happens again,” she said.

Upon receiving the request, which must be seconded by three other committee members, Committee Chair Larry Miller must hold a meeting by Wednesday. Whether the meeting is held behind closed doors is up to Miller.

Chow’s request comes the same day officials with the Transportation Safety Board called on the federal government to review all rules governing how trains are secured.

Their request comes after investigators determined the braking on the Montreal Maine and Atlantic Ltd. train was “insufficient.”

“The board is urging federal regulators at Transport Canada to review all rules governing how trains are secured and to look into operating procedures to make sure trains carrying dangerous goods are not left unsupervised on a main track, McCallum said.

The investigation is on-going. On Wednesday, newly appointed Transport Minister Lisa Raitt visited the community to express her condolences. She has directed Transport Canada to release their recommendations on an “expedited basis.”